1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved film frame counting device in a still camera using long-footage film, and is more particularly directed to a device which indicates the exact number of film frames exposed during regular, as opposed to idle, photography.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent advances in motor drive systems for still cameras have made popular the use of 250-frame films and have led to the development of 800-frame films and the possible development of films having even longer footage.
The number of exposed frames of such long-footage film has heretofore been indicated by a counter plate of relatively large diameter and a mechanism for incrementally moving the counter plate one scale division for every two, five, or even ten frames of film movement, the number of exposures being indicated in multiples of a single frame because of the limited area available for the indicator. However, indication of exposures in multiples of a single frame does not enable the photographer to know the exact number of frames exposed.
It has been proposed to utilize a multi-digit numerical counter of the type employed in tape recorders or the like as an indicator. However, in still cameras a leader portion of the film must undergo idle photography during loading before regular photography can be commenced. For example, in the case of a 250-frame film, a leader portion corresponding to about five frames must undergo idle photography, and in case of an 800-frame film, a leader portion corresponding to seven or eight frames must undergo idle photography. As a result, when a multi-digit numerical counter of the type described above is utilized in a still camera, the counter is incrementally advanced after each idle shot so that the counter does not indicate the exact number of frames exposed during regular photography.
Indicator systems for indicating the presence of film in the camera have been proposed, but none of these systems clearly indicates whether or not the leader portion of the film has been taken up during loading.